Newsletter – May 2026

Officer Nominations

The term of the current Honorary Secretary will end at the next AGM (Spring 2027) when Professor Judy Stephenson will step down. The Honorary Secretary is one of the three main Officers of the Society, and is a member of Executive and Council, chairs the Awards Committee, and is responsible for organising the Society’s main meetings. Members of the Society are invited to contact the President or any Council members with suggestions for the office of Honorary Secretary or if they would like to discuss the post.

The deadline for response is 31 July.

Economic History Review – Editor Nominations

Professor Catherine Schenk has advised that she intends to step down as Editor at the next AGM (Spring 2027). As a consequence, members are invited to propose names for her replacement as Editor, possible names to be sent to the Society via email.

Suggestions are welcome from scholars of any field of economic and social history, but we especially encourage suggestions from scholars working on the economic and social history of the early- or pre-modern eras, or of non-European regions.

Any and all names proposed will, as per the Society’s Standing Orders, be put before the Editors and, subsequently, the Executive, prior to approval by Council and the AGM.

Residential Training Course – Mentor Recruitment

The Society runs an annual residential training course for twelve doctoral students. The course aims to strengthen the quality and analytical rigour of doctoral dissertations, prepare postgraduates for the academic job market, develop their communication skills, broaden their approach to their subjects, and foster networks with established scholars and fellow students in their fields.

We are seeking a new academic mentor with a specialism in econometrics, covering any time period, to join the current team of Jen Aston, Philip Fliers, Helen Paul and Phillipp Schofield. The role involves providing detailed written and oral feedback on three or four student papers, offering informal mentoring over meals and coffee breaks, supporting three or four students in their roles as session chairs, and co-delivering general advice sessions alongside the other mentors.

The course will run from 5pm on Wednesday 2 December to 1.30pm on Saturday 5 December 2026, at the Scarman Events Centre, University of Warwick. Please note that mentors are expected to be resident for the duration. If you would like to be considered, please send a one-page research CV and a short note about your experience of doctoral mentorship/supervision to the Course Convenor, Jen Aston by Friday 29 May 2026. Do feel free to get in touch beforehand for an informal chat about the role.

Colleagues with expertise in other areas who would like to be considered for future iterations of the course are also warmly invited to get in touch.

The History Ledger – Call for Podcast Producers

One of the Society’s goals is to encourage and support the teaching of economic history in schools. To achieve this, we have started the ‘History Ledger’, a podcast series aimed at teachers and students studying economic history at school. It is designed to support those studying the A-Level syllabus (16–18-year-old students).

The History Ledger includes video/audio podcasts of interviews with leading academics discussing specific economic history subjects, along with other support materials. As you may have seen on our website or YouTube channel, three videos were produced and released in 2025 to pilot the idea. These have received a very positive response and we plan to extend the program to 20-30 sets of materials to cover the whole A-Level syllabus.

We are looking for EHS members who want to become involved in delivering this initiative. We are currently recruiting producers, who will each lead the development and production of one series of 3-5 shows, working alongside the committee chair, host and our production partners in the Historical Association. Each podcast series will be devoted to a specific theme derived from the A-Level syllabus. Producers will develop a series, identifying academic experts, deciding how to approach the theme, and managing the delivery of the series.

We want to deliver this program in the Centenary year of the Society. To do this we need volunteers with an expertise and interest in specific topics willing to join our team. In return, you would get the chance to explore a new skillset and medium, achieve some well-evidenced ‘impact’ for your research, and have the satisfaction of making a significant contribution to the growth and effectiveness of History education in the UK.

If you want to know more or want to volunteer, please contact the Chair of the Schools and Colleges Committee (David Gagie) or Dr. Alice Whiteoak. A list of the overarching topics we need to cover can be found here.

Bursary Scheme for PhD Students

The Society invites applications for one-year bursaries of up to £5,000 to assist doctoral students (PhD) in United Kingdom colleges and universities; scholars who are visiting students at UK universities are ineligible to apply. The bursaries will be open to students (full or part-time), at any stage of their PhD career in economic and/or social history, although priority may be given to students who are close to completion; note that the PhD must be under way at the time of application. Please note also that applications from students currently in receipt of a full stipendiary award, or a fully-funded studentship covering fees and living costs, will not be considered.

Deadline – 31 July 2026

Annual Conference – Blogs

‘Volatility, Distributive Conflict, and Economic Policy in Agrentina’s Long Run’, by Ana Laura Catelen

‘Land Privatisation and the Exodus from 19th-Centenary Galicia’, by Ángel Muñiz-Mejuto

Interested in submitting a blog to The Long Run?

Economic History Review – Volume 79: Issue 2

The latest issue of the Economic History Review is now available online.

To purchase a print copy of the current Volume, please contact us.